1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system for remote scheduling of program recording and retrieval of the recorded program.
2. Description of the Related Art
Much work has been devoted to facilitating the selection of movies for viewers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,432 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,734 describe systems for use in hospitals and hotels wherein a private movie distribution system is provided. A viewer selects from an internal library of movies and video games, and the selection is sent by an internal transmission line to the room where the viewer resides. Such systems however do not permit for remote viewing since the viewer must be within the private movie distribution system, and movie selection is limited to the contents of the internal library.
Another system that aims to increase the size of the movie distribution system to permit remote viewing is the so-called movie-on-demand system available over cable television networks. Exemplary on-demand systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,995,708, 5,914,712, 5,956,716, 5,758,257, and 4,506,387. These systems describe various methods for a user to communicate with a central movie distribution system and to select a movie for viewing. They also describe various methods of organizing the available movie selections, distributing selected groups of movies to different geographic clusters of viewers, and for building a movie preference profile for viewers.
Although these movie-on-demand systems do achieve a much larger movie distribution network than the private systems used in hospitals and hotels, they are still limited to specific geographic areas that they may service. Furthermore, their systems place some inherent limitations on the number of movies they may offer for selection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,712 describes a movie distribution system that uses telephone networks to distribute movies. The system is described as being limited to fiber optic telephone networks due to practical bandwidth limitations, but permits a user to telephone a central movie distribution network and a make a movie selection. The movie is then transmitted to a specialized receiving box for display on a television. This system may eventually permit unlimited remote viewing of a movie as more and more telephone networks are transferred from wire to fiber optic networks, but this transition is very costly and currently limited to selected geographic areas. Furthermore, the described system requires that a user call in and select from a recorded list of available movies, this greatly limits the number of movie choices.
Another system that uses telephone networks to transmit multimedia information is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,716. This system is intended as an information service for travelers and maintains a library of news clips, news text, and audio announcements. It is explained that the news clips and audio announcements are preferably transcribed to text format for easier distribution. Basically, the system maintains a profile of each registered user and selects various news items that may be of interest to the user. These news items are periodically downloaded to the user's computer for review. Although this system achieves remote viewing, it is limited to small news and movie clips, and does not permit the viewer to select items for viewing. Rather, pre-selected items are transmitted to the viewer's computer.
A system that aims to increase the amount of movie selection available to a consumer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,638. It is explained that when a consumer visits a video store, it is likely that the video store may not have the movie the consumer seeks since the store has a limited amount shelf and storage space. Therefore, a system is proposed whereby a fiber optic network links multiple video stores and kiosk video vending machines to a central distribution library. A consumer makes a movie selection, and if the movie is not locally available, it is transmitted from the central distribution library to the store or kiosk. The user selects the type of media desired, such as DVD or VHS, and the received movie is recorded onto the selected media for the consumer. Although this system increases the amount of move selection, it is still limited to the number of remote sites it may service since all the receiving sites in the network, i.e. video stores and kiosks, must be linked by a proprietary fiber optic network.
Lastly, all of the above systems provide a method for selecting from a list of available movies in a standardized library, but it is sometimes desirable to select a program that is not available in a standardized library. This is the case, for example, when one wishes to watch a televised program scheduled to air at an inconvenient time and/or location. In such a case, one may use a video cassette recorder, VCR, to record the program for later viewing, but this requires that the user be home to activate or program the VCR, and thus does not permit for remote access. U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,913 describes a system whereby a remote user may program a VCR by telephone, but the user must still wait until he/she returns in order to watch the recorded program or have the VCR's video tape mailed to the user's remote location for viewing.
Therefore, what is needed is a system for remote viewing of televised programs that is not limited to specific geographic regions, not limited to a small sub-set of available programs, and is not limited to specialized fiber optic networks.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for remote recording and retrieval of televised programs without requiring that recorded items be mailed, or otherwise shipped, to a remote user.
It is a further object of the present invention that this system be compatible with exiting television and telephone network infrastructure.